Pages

Game of Thrones*Arya and Gendry - THEY ARE SO FUCKING ADORABLE, YOU GUYS! That scene when she says "I could be your family" and he replies "You wouldn't be my family. You'd be M'Lady." I wanted to cry like a 14 year old girl. There are no fairy tail endings (so far) in the Song of Ice and Fire universe, but one thing that I really hope for, is for these two to be together at the end of it all. I won't spoil where they are at for non book readers, but I would love that. I mean, after all, Robert Baratheon told Ned Stark "I have a son, you have a daughter, let's join our houses." Why can't it be about those two?*The Hound and Beric's fight was awesome, and I'm really glad they showed Beric reanimating. (can I call it that? Or is that too Walking Dead?) *THE BATH SCENE - The motherfucking bath scene. God, it was perfect. I'm sure many people thought I was just being a perv, looking forward to this scene, but I swear it wasn't all about Nikolaj Coster-Waldau being naked. (although that is a plus) this is probably the most important scene for Jaime Lannister in the entire series. This scene says SO much and it really starts to build the relationship that Jaime and Brienne share. NCW fucking nailed it too. Give that guy an Emmy, I might actually root for him more than Aaron Paul in Breaking Bad, and I love me some Aaron Paul.*Stannis' daughter Shireen being Davos' friend. This was kind of a change, but a welcomed one, in my opinion. It worked well. I was wondering when they'd show Stannis' wife and daughter, I could've done without the fetus' on the wall. It kind of reminded me of Village of the Damned.

* The Lord's Kiss - This was the first time in the series that Kit Harington's one facial expression was absolutely perfect. *Tywin Lannister being a fucking boss, part II. Tywin putting his kids in their place was hilarious. He's such an evil dude, but I can't help but love him whenever he is on screen. Charles Dance just owns it. (just like that time he owned 50 Shades of Grey)*Robb Stark had to make a tough decision this week. Thankfully, with his shirt slightly open. Richard Madden is so hot. I totally thought him and Talisa were going to have angry sex when he was showing her that map, but apparently the writers knew that fans can only handle so many feelings in one episode.*Jaime getting his hand worked on was disgusting. * I really enjoyed the scene with Dany talking to Grey Worm. Likewise with Jorah and Selmy. *Peter Baelish is such a perv. I feel scared for Sansa every time she's in the same scene as him. *We got a naked dude with Loras, but not a naked Robb? Yeah. That's fair. *Shooting that scene with Lord Karstark from the Lannister Hostage's point of view was brilliant, and disturbing.VeepSo, I've never really watched Veep, but it comes on after Game of Thrones. When last night's episode started, I was treated with the gem: "That means I have the bigger dick which mean he can suck it." from Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The rest of the episode was hysterical. I think I may give this show a go.True Blood*I re-watched a bit of True Blood this week. The first few episodes of season 1, and the Godric story arc in season 2. This is True Blood at it's best, I really hope this new season can re-capture this feeling, because season 5 was terrible. Season 5 of True Blood might actually be worse than Season 4 of Rescue Me, and that was a clusterfuck.*Here's a couple things True Blood should do: 1) Less story lines 2) Kill Nora 3) Stop trying to make Jason/Jessica happen. 4) Make Eric/Sookie happen. 5) Alcide is only interesting when he's shirtless and part of Sookie's storyline. Don't give him his own. 6) More Godric flashbacks/Eric's visions. He's one of my favorite characters.DreddI also watched Dredd this week. I came into it about 20 minutes late so I don't feel that it justifies a full review from me, but it had some cool special effects. Since Lena Heady was the villain, I like to think of Dredd as what would happen if Cersei Lannister took control of the seven kingdoms, then smoked a bunch of crack.Yo Gabba GabbaThis show needs to be on more often (or they need to add more seasons to Netflix) because my kid is obsessed with it and sometimes it's nice to relax and cuddle on the couch.Twins BaseballThey aren't losing every game, so that's nice. Also I think they played Fandango's theme song during one of their games against the Rangers, and that's hilarious. WWE probably did a mental back flip.The Big Bang TheoryOh my God, there was actually a new episode on this past Thursday! Also apparently Sheldon can achieve an orgasm.

West of Memphis could've been a hard sell. The story of the West Memphis 3, three teenagers who were tried for the murders of three eight year old boys, and spend 18 years in prison before they were released under a total bullshit Alford plea. This trial was followed exclusively by the makers of another documentary series; Paradise Lost. Having seen all three of those films, I was worried West of Memphis might feel a little redundant.

It didn't. It starts from the beginning, making sure that even if you didn't see Paradise Lost, you'd have an idea of what is going on, but this documentary focuses more on the new evidence that they have found. Evidence that can't put Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelly, and Damien Echols at the scene, but that can put one of the victim's (Stevie Hobbs) step fathers at the scene: Terry Hobbs. The film doesn't subtly accuse him, they directly point the finger at him.

This film is hard to watch, they show a lot of the crime scene photos, and seeing those poor boys in that situation is devastating. I can't even imagine the horror these parents went through, even after seeing four documentaries on it. It's sad to know that the state of Arkansas probably won't open the investigation to these boys' deaths. They are ultimately the dark cloud in all of this. No matter if you are a supporter or not. If you are, they held three men in prison for a crime they didn't commit. If you're not, they let three child murderers walk free. Either way, it is a giant let down.

If I had to be critical, I'd say that I would've preferred more insight from Jason Baldwin. I was a little worried that this film might throw him under the bus towards the end, much like Damien Echols did in his book; "Life After Death." But they really didn't. The film, like most things on the WM3 is a little too focused on Echols, and I would just rather hear what Jason has to say at this point.

Driss (Omar Sy) is a petty criminal who is trying to get unemployement benefits. He ends up at Phillippe's (Francois Cluzet) house, where he is interviewing people to be his assistant. Phillippe is paralyzed from the neck down. He needs someone to help take care of him. Driss makes it clear that he only wants his papers signed to prove that he's at least looking for a job, but Phillippe dares him to stay. He says he won't last two weeks. Eventually, they form a very strong friendship and help each other in more ways than they could've imagined.

Going into this film, I kind of expected it to have a tone similar to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I thought it would be beautifully shot, but very depressing. While it's hard to see Phillippe in that scenario (I don't even think I would have the strength to continue living if I were paralyzed from the neck down) the film is actually quite light hearted. I found myself laughing more here than I did in more recent comedies. Sy and Cluzet absolutely nail their parts. They have excellent chemistry, and it's easy to see why these two men become great friends. (It's based on a true story)

Another thing I have to point out is the fabulous cinematography. There's a breathtaking scene when our main characters are paragliding, it's beautiful to watch. The Intouchables is one of the best French films I've ever seen. It's easy to see how this little film ended up grossing so much money overseas.

This Must be the Place is an interesting film to write about. I waited a few days after seeing it to type my words, and I'm still not sure what to make of this film.

Cheyenne (Sean Penn) is a retired rock star living in Dublin. He enjoyed his success (he's rich enough that he doesn't have to work) but he's also haunted by aspects of it. When is father passes away, Cheyenne goes to New York City, and starts a search for a man his father had been looking for. A former Nazi who humiliated him in Auschwitz.

When I first heard about this movie when it premiered at Cannes in 2011, I added it to my must see list without really knowing what it was about. I just saw Sean Penn dressed up like a member of Motley Cru and thought: "Ok, that looks interesting." This movie wasn't what I was expecting. The synopsis of the film isn't really the film's main focus. It's not about finding this SS Officer. It's about Cheyenne's journey to get to that point. While it's interesting, that's also a big part of this film's downfall. The editing is quite brilliant in a sense, but at times it felt like I was watching several different short stories and not one full film. It felt very random and scattered. I hate to say this, but watching this film felt like being stoned. You say some deep, insightful things, then you quickly switch to the next subject because you have zero attention span.

The film itself isn't bad. Sean Penn gives a great performance and I could honestly watch Cheyenne for days. He was fascinating, but the film lacked a much needed structure.

gif credit:Game of Thrones*So many awesome things on Game of Thrones this week. Where do I begin?*I'll start with Dany doing her best Breaking Bad impression by letting the slaver owner know that she speaks high Valaryian, bitch! And she is Danaerys Stormborn of House Targaryen and SHE is the one who knocks! Seriously, I loved that last scene so fucking much.*Especially the look on Jorah's face when he realizes she has a plan.*The men of the Nights Watch gave us a perfect example of when keeping it real goes wrong at Craster's Keep. Personally, I'm just glad they left out all the raping that went on in the books.*JAIME AND BRIENNE! We didn't get "SAPPHIRES!" (I'll still hold out for that one) but we did get some good moments between the two. I try not to get nick picky with the books, because I tend to prefer the show more, but I was kind of hoping that Jaime and Brienne's scene about Jaime dying would've been word for word. It wasn't.*Did I mention how much I love Arya and Gendry together? In the future of course. I know GRRM likes to shit all over everything happy, but I kind of hope they find each other at the end of all this. I think I deserve a somewhat happy ending for some of my favorite characters after the emotional rollercoaster GRRM has already put me through. I liked the scenes with the Brotherhood, and I look forward to the fight between The Hound and Beric next week.*Although I'm a little sad that Robb Stark wasn't in this episode. Can we talk about how hot Richard Madden is?

And Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

And Joe Dempsie

*Sophie Turner was awesome tonight. The look on her face when Margaery said they would be sisters was perfect. It reminded me of a line in Storm of Swords that made me sad, and it was when Sansa said "Arya had always been inadequate as a sister." Margaery was the sister she wanted all along.*Lady Olenna is such a bitch. I love her. She's just fierce.*Speaking of fierce, that was an interesting thing they added in for Varys. Personally, I think they're just looking for excuses to keep Tyrion in every episode since he's their sole acting Emmy Winner/Nominee.*Tywin Lannister is such a fucking boss. Him calling Cersei out on her stupidity was perfect. Got to hand it to Lena Heady too, Cersei is slowly loosing her shit because of Margaery.*Is anyone else as concerned as I am about the way Jojen is staring at Bran? Did someone check this kid to make sure he doesn't have 666 branded on the back of his head?* Theon's little speech made me feel so sorry for him. I can't quite forgive Theon for all of his fuck ups, but boy do I feel bad for him. I'm actually kind of dreading seeing Ramsey develop as a character.

ChoppedI watch a shit load of Chopped. Seriously, when I was pregnant, watching Chopped actually made me nauseous, so I had to stop watching for a few weeks and it was HORRIBLE. In fact, I watch so much Chopped that I feel I'm qualified to give you a little advice if you ever end up on this show:* Don't use Truffle Oil.* Don't tell Zakarian how to eat his food.* Don't service Scott Conant onions.* Don't under cook your pasta.* Do use bacon.* Do use chocolate when Frietag is judging.* Use the ice cream machine, in fact, you better haul ass to that machine because everyone wants to use that.* Don't be a dick and hide the mandoline. Anywho, the reason I bring up Chopped was because I happened to watch an episode this week where the viewer's got to pick the basket ingredients, and one of the chefs actually threw a mini bitch fit over being on the "viewer's choice" episode. I wish I could remember this girl's name, because I've never been so happy when someone got chopped. Seriously, you're a fucking chef. If you want to impress, quit your bitching, and cook your fucking can of chicken. Hoarding: Buried AliveYes, go ahead and laugh at me for watching this, but I watched an episode called "Patty and Phyllis" they are twins who's hoarding got so bad they had the potential for a ridiculous amount of diseases being in their home. I would like someone to explain to me how they managed to work at a bakery for 34 years before getting fired for their clothes not being clean enough? And how did they manage to afford not one, not two, but THREE houses? Seriously, what am I missing here? How can you even get a mortgage if you've had to have two houses previously torn down due to your hoarding?

American History X

I re-watched this movie this week, it's such a powerful film. I still think this is the best performance of Edward Norton's career. I'm suddenly in the mood to go watch more Norton movies. BullyAnother film I re-watched this weekend. Bully is quite extraordinary. It manages to still be a good film despite the terrible dialogue and amateur directing. Yes, I called it amateur. Larry Clark loves him some sex, and the majority of the nudity and creeper style camera angles were completely unnecessary. Yet it all seems to fit this story about trashy teens in southern Florida.

Lauren (Lauren Miller) just got dumped by her long time boyfriend, and let go from her job. Her friend, Jesse (Justin Long) sets her up to live with his mutual friend, Katie. (Ari Graynor) Lauren and Katie had a pretty bad run-in in college, so they are reluctant to live together at first. When Lauren finds out one of Katie's jobs is a phone sex operator, they decide to make a business out of it.

I don't really care for chick flicks or girly movies, but I have to say I really enjoyed this one. It's VERY girly, and very raunchy. Some of the dialogue might be a bit extreme, but I thought it worked. There were plenty of great little cameos here and there. (Seth Rogan, for example. His wife wrote and starred in this film) The plot is very predictable, and Lauren Miller, while a great writer, still felt very green to watch on screen. Luckily the always wonderful Ari Graynor steals the show. I'm afraid she gets typecast a lot as the drunken, loud mouth party girl, but she does it well.

In a house surrounded by boys, I think I needed this little chick flick for a Sunday afternoon. It is a nice change from what I'm used to watching.

Grade: A-

Memorable Quote: "It's ok, I do this all the time." - Katie (Ari Graynor)

I have had quite a dilemma on my hands with it comes to seeing The Hobbit. First and foremost, I love The Lord of the Rings. I think they are a perfect example of great books being adapted into a great films. I never tire of watching them. Then there's The Hobbit. A book that I barely finished and a cartoon adaptation that was horrible. Needless to say, I didn't race out to see The Hobbit when it hit theaters. I think I made the right call.

When Gandalf (Ian McKellen) commissions Bilbo Bagins (Martin Freeman) to go on an adventure with him, Bilbo tries to ignore it. Then 13 Dwarves show up at his door and he is thrust into their travels to reclaim a lost Dwarf kingdom. Along the way there are dangers, some familiar faces, and some new ones.

Look, parts of The Hobbit I really enjoyed. Freeman and McKellen, the outstanding score, the occasional laughs, and the bit of nostalgia I got seeing Rivendale, Smeagal/Gollum, and the sign on the front of the Baggins' house in the prologue. My main issue here is the length. This is a three hour movie in which nothing happens. The other LOTR movies were long, but by the end I felt they had at least accomplished something. I think it's a mistake to drag this out between 3 movies for one book. Even if they are adding other parts of Middle Earth we heard about, but never saw. (Yes, it's cool to see those brought to life, but do they really enhance the story?) I stop short of calling this movie bad, it's just flawed in it's length, and the fact that the Dwarves just really aren't that interesting. I felt invested in the characters of the fellowship. These guys, not so much.

I think if you're a fan of the LOTR series, you probably should see The Hobbit just to get the full experience. But this film is a marathon, and I can only hope parts 2 and 3 are a bit more exciting.

Game of Thrones*So I never thought I'd feel so emotional about Hot Pie staying behind and no longer traveling with Arya and Gendry. In the books I was just like "meh." But the show made it really sweet.*Riverrun made it into the map! Yay! And they kept Edmure messing up and Blackfish having to come in and take care of business.*Since we're talking about Riverrun, the conversation between Robb and Blackfish reminded me of something: I'm still annoyed that they re-casted the guy that played The Mountain after season one. The first guy looked so much more intimidating.*Next week's episode is going to be SO AWESOME for Dany. This is hands down my favorite Dany moment in the books. (Aside from her coming out of the fire with dragons, of course)*Normally I hate the brothel scenes in Game of Thrones. I think they are just filler and totally unnecessary, but I have to stand behind the one with Podrick this week. That was hilarious.*Also Tyrion and Cersei moving the chairs at the small council meeting was pretty golden as well.*JAIME AND BRIENNE!! I'm surprised at the angle they used when cutting off Jaime's hand. That's a bold move. They either used a different shot for the trailer, or that is Jaime screaming about something else. I can't tell yet. This particular scene did lead to a pretty interesting argument with my husband. (Seriously, the only things we usually argue about are our Netflix queue and our kid's car seat placement) I swore Jaime yelled "Sapphires!" to distract the men, then proceeded to tell them the story of Tarth. He thought I was wrong. Then I proceeded to get the book out to prove my damn point. After searching through it for several minutes (I got caught up reading one of Sansa's chapters, plus my Nyquil was kicking in. I have a terrible cold right now) I found what I was looking for only to find out that I was totally wrong. He yells Sapphires at a different point in the book. Damn. *The plot thickens for Theon. I can't wait to see the big reveal. One thing about his plot is a perfect example of a major problem I had with the books: Why is nearly every dude in Westeros a rapist?*Why the hell is Ghost with the Nights Watch and not with Jon Snow? He's supposed to protect him.*The final scene cutting straight into a modern band singing "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" was something straight out of True Blood. I loved it. True Blood is awesome at having a jaw dropping last scene, then kicking it in the music right afterwards.Monday Night Raw*Post WrestleMania crowds are always the best, and this crowd from East Rutherford, New Jersey was probably one of the best I've ever seen. So many great chants. Singing Fandango's entrance theme was great. I really hope that sticks.The Big Bang Theory*I'd love to talk about The Big Bang Theory, but I can't, because it wasn't on this week. This show has the most inconsistent schedule I have ever seen. I love BBT, I do, but they are lucky that they don't have quality writing like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, or else people would start hating them for their shit schedule.The Nerdist*I watched Chris Hardwick's new show on BBC America. I appreciate the guy, he knows a lot about pop culture, plus he had John Hamm from Mad Men and Betsy Brandt from Breaking Bad on the show. I just wish they would've did without the little skits by his co-hosts. (or whatever they are supposed to be) The show felt really long.

Mia (Jane Levy) is a recovering addict. In an effort to quit for good, she goes to an isolated cabin with her brother, whom she rarely sees, David (Shiloh Fernandez) and their friends Eric, Olivia and Natalie (Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore) They find a bunch of dead animals in the cellar, and a scary looking book that is wired shut. Of course one of them reads the strange phrases in the book, and soon poor Mia becomes possessed.

It's been awhile since I've seen the original Evil Dead. I meant to watch it before hand, but never got around too it. I remember it being very campy. This one, despite the TERRIBLE acting by Fernandez and Blackmore, didn't feel campy at all. I think I can safely say this is the goriest movie I've ever seen. (an honor previously held by Martyrs) I appreciated the fact that they tried to stay away from CGI and used old school effects. Director Fede Alvarez even tried to honor Sam Raimi's style with some of the shots in the film.

The downfall of this film is definitely the acting. Pucci is the only stand out. I felt at times, even he tried to dumb down his ability to fit in with the rest of the cast. The worst actor has nearly the most screen time (aside from Mia), and that's David. I'm not familiar with Shiloh Fernandez, but after this, I don't ever want to see him try to act again. Good lord.

Evil Dead is a good horror film. It's gory, and very creepy. There aren't many "jumpy" scenes in the film, but just the make up on this characters is enough to make you squirm in your seat. If Evil Dead is hampered by anything, it's by the acting of some of the leads. Oh, P.S a dog dies in this movie. I didn't know before hand. It's not graphic, but it still made me sad.

Becky (Rebel Wilson) is getting married. Regan (Kirsten Dunst) is not impressed. They've been friends since high school, and control freak Regan always thought she would get married first. They reunite for Becky's bachelorette party. There's the cynical Gena (Lizzy Caplan) who refuses to grow up. And the ditzy Katie (Isla Fisher) who to put it lightly is a complete fucking spaz. After a coke binge and some drinks, the three bridesmaids end up ruining Becky's wedding dress, and thus starts their long night trying to get it fixed.

Bachelorette definitely has some qualities I expected to hate. The typical "problem before the wedding but it will get solved just in time" has been done over and over again. But not by these three women. Though, at the beginning I had a hard time believing that these women would all be friends. You finally do see them come together. Really, they are perfect for each other.

The thing that stands out to me is the dialogue. It's vulgar, rapid fire, and completely suited for the night of shenanigans they're having. These girls are flawed, but that's what makes them interesting. There's so many great lines throughout. Frankly, a lot of people will compare this to Bridesmaids. (I did) In my opinion, this was far better.

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "If you take Park Ave I swear I will end you." - Gena (Lizzy Caplan)﻿

Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson) is driven through Manhattan in his swanky stretch limo. His purpose? Getting a hair cut, but what happens is anything but ordinary. Eric is a billionaire, and his company is experiencing a threat. He interacts with people throughout the day, all who seem more interesting than Packer himself.

Parts of this film went over my head. I'll admit it. I'm still not exactly sure what Packer did for a living, or why he chose to - minor spoiler alert - shoot a certain someone near the end of the film. It's not that I had a hard time paying attention to the dialogue in the film, which was great by the way. I had trouble paying attention to Pattinson himself. I felt he was extremely miscast here. He's bland and boring and unfortunately for me, was in every single scene. Throughout this guy's day, other people drop in to his limo to update him on the current situation, and they are all quite fascinating, but Pattinson is like a black hole sucking everything interesting away. His best scenes are opposite his wife, Elise (Sarah Gordon) but are few and far between.

This film had potential. You can certainly see some of Cronenberg's signature scenes throughout. I just think that he mis-stepped when casting Pattinson. I don't think he's a horrible actor, I just think he wasn't meant for this.

These are my random thoughts on all of the TV shows I watched within the last week:

Game of Thrones*The season premiere should've been two hours, since this episode was essentially "season premiere part 2."*JAIME AND BRIENNE SCENES!!! I seriously love these two so much, every scene of them this season will be golden.*Thank you Gendry, for asking Arya why she didn't choose her three deaths more wisely. I'm glad to see these two again as well. They are also two of my favorite characters. Although, I'm disappointed Gendry was kind of cowering behind Arya. In the books he protects her.*I really enjoyed that added scene with Catelyn talking about Jon Snow being ill. Her character definitely needed sympathy points.*Bran grew up so much in between seasons that it's pretty hilarious to watch his scenes now. Rickon seems liked he grew several inches as well.*I loved the introduction of Lady Ollena. That whole scene with Sansa and Margaery was perfect.*Jack Gleeson killed it as King Joffrey, as usual. Can we get this kid an Emmy nom? Can you name a more hated character on TV than him?*Speaking of hated characters: Theon made his first appearance this season. We book readers all know who that boy helping him is going to turn into. He looks like how I pictured him, but he doesn't sound like it. Maybe if they actually get into the "reek" story, it will be better. I guess I always imagined his voice would be more cunning. The Big Bang Theory
*Apparently, not only is Sheldon socially awkward, but he's also borderline racist. As funny as some of those scenes were, I felt it was a little out of character.*The mother jokes were pretty damn funny. I'll give them that.*I really hope they wrap up this "Raj can't talk to women unless he's drunk" bullshit. I've hated it since season 1. It's time to get rid of it.*I also hope they stop butchering Penny's character. I like Penny. She could easily be a complete stereotype of a character, but Kaley Cuoco plays her so well that it's easy to see why people would be friends with her. That being said, Penny is the only character who never gets to succeed in her field of work. They are constantly dumbing her down. (It's obvious she's not as smart as the boys, but then they take away all of her old friends and give her two genius girl friends?) It's not fair. I want Penny to get a good acting job in the season finale.*Also, I wish I had Penny's boobs. Hoarders/Hoarding: Buried Alive*I think I'm starting to get addicted to this show. There were 4 episodes on in a row and I watched them all.*I still want to punch so many people in the face when watching this show. *I'm also surprised some people just don't burn the house to the ground and start over. God bless these cleaning crews.My Crazy Obsession/My Strange Addiction/Extreme Cheapskates/Extreme Couponing*More curious shows I've been watching on TLC while I make dinner.*Some of the things on My Strange Addiction should be put on My Crazy Obsession instead. Addiction to me is more about what you're putting your body through. You can be obsessed with your stuffed lamb toy, but can you be addicted to it? You're not eating it, shooting it into your blood stream, or rubbing it all over yourself.*Extreme Couponing is fucking fascinating. I don't agree with these gigantic "stock piles" they have, but saving money is always a good thing. I tend to always have coupons on me after having a kid. (They are so fucking expensive, you guys!)*I would hate to be the cashier that has to check these people out though. And the people that are stuck in line behind them.*Fun fact, while I was at the grocery store not too long ago, I was trying to decide which box of cake mix I should by. I was staring at the both, comparing. Then, an extreme couponer with a big bass binder full of coupons walks by and gives me one of her coupons to make my decision easier. That was so nice.*Extreme cheapskates is kind of disgusting. Serving up road kill, washing your clothes in the shower, while you are showering to save money. Not using toilet paper. Ew.*Although, one episode where the mother would only take her daughter to thrift shops to buy clothes, her daughter's little friend had more make up on her face than most people do on the red carpet. And she was like 12. Holy shit. I love make up just as much as the next girl, but I never pile it on like that. I didn't wear it when I was 12 either.SNL*That college basketball sketch was hysterical. I loved when she was shooting the t-shirt gun at them.*PETER DRUNKLAGE!!

I remember watching director Lee Daniels in a documentary on IFC called "Indie Sex." He said something along the lines of "Eventually I want to make films about rainbows and happy places, but right now I want to explore some dark places." With Shadowboxer and Precious, The Paperboy certainly falls into one of those dark places.

Jack (Zac Efron) has essentially thrown his life away. He was a gifted swimmer, but got kicked out of college. He reluctantly returns to his hometown in Florida. His brother, Walt (Matthew McConaughey) and his partner Yardley (David Oyelowo) have also returned to write a story on a local convicted killer on death row, Hillary. (John Cusack) They also interview Charlotte, (Nicole Kidman) a woman who wrote to Hillary and is about to marry. She's never met him in person until now, and poor Jack starts to fall for her too. The story is narrated by Anita, (Macy Gray) who works as Jack's family's maid.

When this film first came out it got a TON of hate, and I totally see why. The editing at times is very bad and Zac Efron gives a terrible performance. I almost feel bad for hating on him so much, but this character was clearly more complicated than he's capable of handling. Whenever he was on screen, I kept thinking to myself what other actors could've actually pulled this off. (Brady Corbet, Joe Dempsie, and Jesse Eisenberg came to mind) It's hard to completely look past Jack, as he's the lead, but the rest of the movie is so outrageous I couldn't help but be fascinated by it.

Kidman and Cusack are insane here. They have two of the most disturbing sex scenes I've seen in awhile. (and one is completely done without them touching each other. A scene that I think is one of the best thanks to their over the top moaning and McConaughey and Oyelowo's facial expressions) It reminded me a lot of Killer Joe in a way. It's like I was watching something I shouldn't be, but couldn't look away. The Paperboy surprised me in many instances. I didn't expect it to go the way it did. Other than Efron, all of the leads give great performances. If you're a Cusack fan (I'm not) I would definitely check this out. His role is small, but it's pretty terrifying.

Another thing The Paperboy accomplished was capturing the feel of sticky Florida in the summer. Everyone looked so hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable. It was actually a bit of a relief for me to look out my own window and see snow. Honestly, it was the perfect setting for this film.

I'm delaying my weekly Indie Gem column until tomorrow. Because frankly, there's only one thing I want to talk about today: Roger Ebert's passing.It's odd how a person that you've never met's death could affect you so much. But that just goes to show you how many lives this man touched.Roger Ebert has been part of my cinematic life for a long time. When I was young, I would always sternly tell my father that "Siskel and Ebert didn't like that movie." I can very clearly remember commercials that would state "Siskel and Ebert give this two thumbs up." I would search for films when Ebert gave them glowing reviews. I would get a good laugh out of his bad reviews. I even emailed a review he did of a stupid little horror film called Chaos to my friend when he suggested we watch it with the title "Hell no."Now, I never want to be a professional writer. I just love sharing my thoughts on film, but if Ebert taught me anything about writing, it was how to be passionate. Sometimes I feel like I can't put my thoughts into words coherently, but I just tell myself to be honest. As long as I believe in what I'm writing, I feel I've done it justice. With Ebert's brilliantly written reviews, you could always see he was passionate.So Thank you, Roger Ebert, for being such an influence on me and so many others. I like to think you're discussing movies right now with Gene Siskel. My thoughts and prayers go out to the rest of his family during this difficult time. And in true movie blogger fashion - if the Academy leaves your name out of their In Memoriam video (because believe me, you deserve to be in there) I'll pitch a little viral bitch fit.

*This is the final entry in my 10 Series. Click the label to see my previous posts*

Well, this is the end of my 10 Series! Thanks for reading and sticking with me. I hope this all doesn't feel too redundant. These movies/TV shows spoke to me in different ways, it was hard to narrow it down. There's so many more. You don't necessarily have to be a huge movie fan to enjoy certain things, but sometimes I wonder if I would've noticed them had I not been obsessed with movies.

10 Times Movies/TV Have Made Me Grateful to be a Film Fan

1) All of American BeautyOf course I had to start my list with my all time favorite movie. There is so much about American Beauty I love. "Its a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself." Is my all time favorite quote, and it comes from this film.

2) Adrien Brody carrying The PianistIt's really a testimony for an actor to carry an entire film, and that's what Brody did here. The funny thing is, I wouldn't list him as one of my favorite actors, but the power he showed here was phenomenal. The scene of him walking down the street, crying after he's just escaped going to the camps is absolutely devastating.

3) The animation in WALL-EWALL-E was the first animated film I ever looked at and admired just how far we've come in the field of animation. To think that we started off with Black and White Mickey Mouse cartoons and now have WALL-E and Eve floating through space with a fire extinguisher, and having it look so beautiful is amazing. My hat goes off to those artists. They do a great job.

4) The brutal honesty of PreciousSome may think I'm crazy for thinking of Precious as a movie I could watch more than once. Yes, it's hard to sit through, but it gets in your face with it's raw, brutal honesty.

5) Epic books becoming epic movies/TV shows.Whenever a book gets adapted into a film, there's always going to be gripes, and the books are always going to be better. That being said, It's still cool to see someone's version of what went on in the books play across the screen. The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones specifically come to mind when I write this. I loved the books and the movies. I'm grateful for both.

6) Breaking Bad's season 2 opener.Seven Thirty-Seven has to be the best hour of television I've ever seen in my life. Other shows can take note from this. Season one ended on a bit of a cliff hanger. Season 2 dove right in, had an explosive finale to season 1's conflict, and easily set up the conflict for season 2. This is the episode where I stopped just enjoying Breaking Bad and started LOVING it.

7) The opening credits of Game of ThronesThis is clever. Having the opening credits view all of the cities on the map that we will be in each episode. It really is an amazing sequence to watch, and it never gets old.

8) Merlotte's in True BloodMerlotte's means a lot more to me than just a fictional diner in True Blood. It represents going back to the basics. Merlotte's was the first place we saw our characters in True Blood, and it's the one place they all feel at home. I never get sick of scenes in Merlotte's. In fact, after season 5 I kind of longed for more scenes there. It just shows that sometimes the best things are from the simplest set up. There's a lot of nostalgia factor here.

9) Heath Ledger's JokerThe late Heath Ledger brought to life one of the most iconic villains of all time. It's a performance that I don't think will ever be topped villain-wise. He was erratic, insane, and everything I could've wanted from The Joker. Even when he wasn't on screen, I thought about him the whole time.

10) Art Direction/CinematographyThere are so many things to appreciate when watching a film. Art Direction/Production Design and Cinematography are two of them. Pan's Labyrinth comes to mind. That film was absolutely mind blowing. Everything in it was so surreal. Many of Tim Burton's films always have a unique look to them. (Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd) Sometimes even modern movies can be shot in a way that makes them extraordinary. (Inception) Or even a certain city can account for all of the beauty in a film. (Midnight in Paris) With There Will be Blood, they made the regular open plains actually look stunning.

It's hard to explain this particular post. I wanted to talk about animated shows I watched as a kid and how differently I see them as an adult. In some cases, I still see them the same way.

10 Times I Looked Back on Animated Movies/TV I Loved as a Child

1)David The GnomeThis was seriously "my show" as a kid. I watched it all the time. Looking back, it was only on for two seasons, but I swear I watched it for years. I must have been watching a lot of re-runs. I actually still remember a preview for an episode I never saw. It had David pulling a bullet (or something like it) out of a hurt deer. There was a little blood, and I always saw the preview but never the actual episode. I think I'll be heading over to Youtube after I'm done here..

2) Sleeping BeautyAurora was and still is my favorite Disney princess to this day. Which is kind of funny considering she doesn't even talk for the 2nd half of the movie

3) The Littl' BitsThis was another TV show I watched all of the time as a kid. I thought I had gone crazy for awhile because NO ONE seemed to remember this show. Eventually I got fed up and searched it online and found out it was actually a dub of a Japanese cartoon. This WAS on Nick Jr! I swear!

4) The Secret of NIMHI always enjoyed this film as a child because it felt different than all of the other cartoons I watched. It's a darker cartoon, and that's probably why I still enjoy it today. I remember getting the sequel for Christmas - Timmy to the Rescue, and they turned it into a musical. When my family and I watched it together we were all pretty appalled. That was horrible.

5) Rocko's Modern LifeI thought this show was hilarious when I was a kid. I think it's hilarious for a lot of different reasons now. This show is so dirty! How did they get away with this on Nickelodeon? The Big Heads? The restaurant they go to is the Chokey Chicken? Rocko works as a phone sex operator in one episode? This shit is crazy. In retrospect, my parent's wouldn't let me watch Ren and Stimpy because it was "too dirty." I'm glad they weren't really paying attention to this one.

6) FantasiaFantasia is a movie that I really wish I owned on DVD. My kid would love this. Looking back, I always watched this movie in steps. The last part of it scared me when I was young, and I slowly started watching more and more of it as I grew older. Eventually, it didn't freak me out at all. It's funny to think of that now. Watching the movie in baby steps because the demons were frightening.

7) The Hunchback of Notre DameThis movie has a silly place in my heart. I remember when I saw it in theaters, I had won a free "Kiddie Combo." You see them everywhere now, but they didn't really have them at my theater back then. So to get a little Hunchback box with popcorn, candy, and a soda in it was just really cool to me. It was the first time I had one. That makes me sound really old - I'm only 25. My theater just sucked.

8) HerculesI actually have a CD with some of the songs that the Muses' sang in this movie. I loved them so much. This was really cool for me, because it got me really interested in Greek Mythology. When it came time for me to actually learn about that in class, I essentially schooled everyone in trivia because I had read so many stories about it. All because of Hercules

9) BeBe's KidsI swear this movie was on TV EVERY TIME I stayed home sick from school. No matter what the year. This movie is so freaking ridiculous, but I still kept watching it whenever it was on. I remember being bummed about HBO being taken off our cable network because that was the channel that always played it.

10) The Lion KingWhen I talk about watching a movie and feeling the same way I did as a child, The Lion King always comes to mind. This is just a great movie, no matter what age. The songs were perfect and catchy, the characters were funny, it actually showed us a death on screen. (a first that I can remember at the time it came out, anyways) It really was just an envelope pushing feature for Disney at the time. I even enjoyed the sequel. Even though Simba had a daughter and I remember having a Lion King Book that specifically said Simba had a son. Continuity? Whatever.

This is something new I'm going to try. All of my favorite shows are on Sunday nights. So every Monday, I'm going to do a quick write up on my shows. It won't be a full blown review, just quick notes on what happened.Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones certainly knows how to get things rolling. Aside from Arya, Jaime, and Brienne missing, there's not a bad thing I can say about this episode.

*We get to see Dani's dragons in action, and she gets to Astaphor. (I'm super excited about this because we will eventually get a total badass Dany moment out of this)

*Sansa, despite being a prisoner at Kings Landing still finds time to play an amusingly bitchy game while Littlefinger Pervs on her and sets his plan in motion.

*Tyrion and Tywin have a great exchange, and if you were starting to like Tywin you have probably stopped.

*Margaery Tyrell is beautiful and perfect and has no problem making the people of Flea Bottom fall in love with her as she speaks with orphans and gives them toys. This lead to a great scene with Joffrey and Cersei were you can tell Cersei is getting pissed that someone is going to have more influence on Joffrey than her.

*Jon Snow's one facial expression was actually perfect for the scene when he saw a giant for the first time.

*Davos is still upset with Stannis' BFF Mesliandre. Davos is a character who chapter's I didn't really care for in the books, despite some pretty important shit happening in them. But he's slowly growing on me more and more.

The Walking Dead

* I was totally off on a few of my death predictions. (Thank God)

*Andrea is dead! I didn't think they would have the balls to kill her off, but I'm glad they did. There was no way she could've redeemed herself after all of the stupid decisions she made all season. Her last few words were sweet, and she tried to explain herself, but I would've been happier if she would've just said: "I'm an idiot."

* Last week I pondered after reading an interview with Norman Reedus about The Governor's character getting even crazier. I thought; "He has a torture chamber, he's probably a rapist, and he bit someone's fingers off." "How much more crazier could he get?" Oh, he could just shoot all of the people that were helping him 10 minutes earlier. Then awkwardly drive off with his two remaining followers. He'll be back.

* Carl is slowly becoming a sociopath. I'm kind of surprised Rick hasn't tried to give him an ass-whooping yet or something. His character could go to some seriously dark places.

*There was a little moment between Daryl and Carol that was sweet. Awww

*Maybe there was a little moment between Rick and Michonne too? hmmmm

*Wait, they took everyone back to the prison? Wouldn't Woodbury have been a better choice? I mean, it's not crawling with walkers like the prison is. (and those sirens probably attracted a shitload of them) I'm pretty sure people were growing vegetables in Woodbury, they had a TON of guns there, why leave it? They could totally hold off the Governor there. That didn't make a lot of sense to me. Sure the prison itself is more secure, but Woodbury would've been the more comfortable choice.

* The ending surprised me, I didn't expect Rick to take all of those people in, but as far as season finales go, this was pretty weak. It was hyped up to be an all out war, when really it was 10 minutes of shooting, 20 minutes of Andrea trying to free herself from handcuffs while STOPPING TO TALK TO MILTON. Seriously? you can't talk and work on those cuffs at the same time? and 20 minutes of regular Walking Dead.

* I look forward to October and what it will bring, but until then, I'm going to waste my time with my favorite Walking Dead meme. Stuff and Things!﻿

LAMB #753

About Me

Welcome to my collection of ramblings. I bring you movie reviews, awards coverage, and other things in the wonderful world of film and TV. Most of all, I love talking to fellow movie fans. I'm a bit of a smartass and I probably swear to much. I personally do not use cookies for anything, but the 3rd party widgets on my blog (such as Twitter) do.